Persona: Home Of The Brave
by Raidou The 16th
Summary: The ultimate challenge leads Minato Arisato into a timeless quest for power, in a land where only the courageous remain sane, for even the strong fall time and again. P1/2/3/4 involved. R&R, Enjoy.
1. Blackened

**Sup? New fic. Disclaimers. Enjoy.**

* * *

The door was open.

I swallowed dryly. Once I went out, there was no turning back...

But I had to. There was no space for hesitation. I couldn't allow myself to take a step back.

I needed power. There was no other answer. I had no choice. I looked at Igor, who widened his eternal grin slightly.

Once I got up from my chair, I walked towards the open door.

Even though I knew I shouldn't have, I looked back. That was a sign of hesitation that I couldn't hide or suppress. I couldn't say I wasn't afraid...

Be brave, dammit!

...

Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the blue door.

Off into the wild.

...

...

* * *

I woke up, but I seemed to be on my feet. After I raised my head, I took a brief look around.

My eyes caught nothing but fog... the path before me was uncertain.

Even though I could see nothing, however, I felt compelled to walk forward.

I could swear I heard a voice... telling me not to be afraid. To proceed.

And it worked, as it guided me to take a step forward. And another, and another...

My quiet stroll through fog was surely bewildering. It brought forth a weight in my chest that I was sure I'd felt before.

But where...? And how? And why?

Shaking my thoughts aside, I resumed my walk. The ground underneath me was akin to a forest's, but I could see no trees, only small patches of grass that grew low to the ground. They were strangely green, as well. Too green.

'Halt!' I heard in my head. I complied before I could even think about it.

'Prepare.'

For what...?

I saw the fog lift in front of me, revealing more to the area than I'd seen before, but still enveloped the place beyond the newly visible field.

I looked around for a while, for a chill ran down my spine. Something sinister was watching me from the fog...

My eyes met the ground. Something was written by my feet. I got down on one knee to read it.

'I abide by the rules of this world. My actions are my own and no one else's. I accept this fate of my own free will,' and and 'X' underneath the phrase.

'Cast yourself into this world. Take up the sword and pay your blood', I heard in my head. A sheathed short sword appeared on ground next to me.

I picked it up from the ground. It was light, even within its sheath. Drawing the blade, I could perfectly see my grey eyes and blue hair in the sword's bluish steel.

I knew what I had to do. I took the blade to the palm of my free hand and opened a light cut, only barely allowing blood to flow.

... And it was blue. My blood... was blue.

Clenching my fist, I let the liquid flow into the mark on the ground.

... I bled blue...

'Minato Arisato...' I heard in my head, before the sound of steps came from where I couldn't see.

From beyond the fog stepped forth a blackened being... Easily three times my height, a man with a completely black skin, equally ebony hair which almost hit the ground with its length, taking stance so offensive that it halved his height, and wielding one, two... seven swords...? Each one of them as tall as me. Two in each of his hands, one in his mouth, and two more sheathed by waist. It stared into my soul with two round, unblinking, solid yellow orbs that were where one's eyes would be.

How?!

'Face your fear!' The voice boomed in my head.

I subconsciously took the deepest of breaths and kept it in, breathing but very shallowly as I got up to my feet.

The dread I felt was primal... I was shaking in my boots. The sight of the beast before me pulled at my heart's strings in a way that I feared not only for it, but for something else... I couldn't quite understand my fear, and that frightened me even. This fear of my unknown...

But... I had to raise my sword and fight. I had no choice. And I did... holding my sword with both trembling hands, short as it was.

Before I could think of a strategy, the creature charged towards me with great speed, leaving me almost no time to roll away from its leaping vertical slash.

I felt the wind from the strike from where I stood after dodging... My head lowered slightly as I back away even farther to try and gain space to think. My backwards movement became automatic as my mind drew a blank, and my back eventually hit a wall...

Rather... it hit the fog.

There was no escape...

The creature turned towards me with the same unblinking eyes. It readied the two swords in his right hand in a Iaido stance and dealt a slash at blind speed in the air, sending a sharp razor of wind in my direction.

I held up my sword to try and guard it, somehow, unable to think of anything else. The wind blew me away, causing my back to collide against the fog behind me. I felt the impact and fell to my knees.

The giant swordsman rushed towards me as I tried to get up. Left with no choice, I had to raised a high guard to block its downward strike, even though I knew he'd be quick to overpower me. I didn't give up, however, and desperately tried to summon the strength to push him back. The clash didn't last more than two seconds before he removed his own swords, throwing me off balance. I couldn't even see the slash that came my way. I simply felt a blade slicing at my face, cleanly through my right eye.

"Aaaaaaagh..." I was sent reeling back with a scream of pain. My eye! "My eye!" I couldn't stop screaming. My fear fueled my pain as I took a hand to the wound, painting my hand blue once more.

My eye...

I couldn't take my hand away from my eye, but I did see that the sword the creature held with his mouth was now stained with my blood.

And he wanted more, slowly strolling towards me.

I had no option but to raise my sword with only my left hand to try and defend myself... I had no other option... There was nowhere to run...

My whole body shook.

And he only approached...

He came within striking range and readied a horizontal slash with his two right swords.

I had to do something...! With a pained grunt unnatural to me, I slashed at his swords to try and parry them away. And did to some extent. I managed to stop his attack. Not even bothering to stop, I tried a thrust at the area that I'd opened, which was the right side of his chest...

But he parried my blade upwards, sending it flying high into the fog above, using his left blades. Then he rose up to full height and raised his leg, only to come down stomping me on the chest and pinning me to the ground.

Not only the air left my lungs forcefully, but blood began obstructing my throat as I tried to scream. My voice only came out as a cough which hurt my chest even more. I was sure something had broken inside me...

The monster stared me down before it drew one of his sheathed swords and pointed it down at me.

I would still be shaking if I could... My working eye did, at least.

That was the end...

He thrust his sword down on me...

...

...

'Do not be afraid.'

...

...

* * *

I woke up once more...

The first thing I noticed was my sword besides me.

Then my eyes.

And then that I was alive, again.

... Was I?

The fog around me was gone. Or was it me that was gone from there...?

The place was completely different.

Marble floor, massive pillars, two sets of stairs leading up...

And seemingly no exit. At least none in sight.

"Greetings," I heard a feminine voice behind me. I quickly shot up to my feet and faced her...

It was a beautiful woman clad in blue with long, platinum blonde hair and red lips. "My name is Margaret. I am the one who rules over power

Welcome to the Home Of The Brave."

* * *

 **So, first things first: This fic is gonna be completely out there. It's gonna be kinda crazy, full of mysteries and stuff. I also plan it to be kinda long. A lot of things will happen here, so... yeah. Also, you may have noticed the Dark/Demon's Souls influence. Yeah, that is there, but it's not a crossover. Just the influence. Opinions in the review box below, I'm Raidou the 16th and I approve this message *thumbs up*. See ya at whatever I write next.**


	2. Sweet Home

**Sup? Back again. Disclaimers. On with it.**

* * *

I tried to break eye contact with this Margaret to take a better look at my surroundings, but couldn't. Her yellow eyes kept mine captive and didn't seem to let go...

"You are Minato Arisato, correct?" She asked me. I simply nodded in response. "I'm here to help you and the many others bound to this place through their quests."

The questions began popping in my head. So many of them at a time, I was having a hard time picking one. "There are others here...?"

She finally allowed me to break away from her eyes, and I took a more careful look around. Yes, there were other people there... all of them faces I didn't recognize, coming and going through doors set around a round flight of stairs, or talking to each other while standing around.

"You've signed the contract, just as them. You are now bound to this place until you fill your purpose. You will always come back here, no matter what happens to you. You cannot escape this place."

"What do you mean I cannot escape this place...?"

"Even should you reach the limits of your body, your blood will bring you back here, and you will stand again."

... what...?

Then I probably did die in that battle... and that wasn't a dream. That fear came back to me once more, at least a fraction of it.

I shivered, still.

"What is this quest you are going to aid me with...?" I asked, to keep my mind away from that dread.

"You've been given the weapon. It represents your heart. Follow it, and it will bring you to your destiny."

Why were there no clear answers...? I sighed. "Where do those doors lead?" I asked, scratching my head. That place was huge... it towered so high up, I couldn't see the ceiling. Outside of the flight of stairs where the doors were arranged, there was another set which went up and up, forming rings which I was going to assume that lead to the floors above.

"They lead to the worlds connected to this place. In those worlds, you'll be presented choices, challenges, and the chances to prove yourself."

"Also, you're here to help me... how will you do that?" I figured that was rude of me to ask, but... really. Questions needed answers.

"Each hardship will strengthen your heart. In exchange for strength of heart, I'll lend you power," she said, with the ghost of a smile, now. Perhaps...

... No. I cast the thought aside.

Strength of heart, though...? Did she mean the sword?

"I hope you can remain sane through your hardships. Do not lose heart. Farewell." She said as she opened a door... which was not there before. And entered.

And the door vanished.

What was she...?

And I was left on my own in that place full of people.

What would I do...? Where would I begin?

I took a few steps forward, analyzing the doors and the place. The doors were all big and white, there was nothing different about them but their names...

I couldn't understand them, however.

"Boo." I heard behind me, and I literally jumped. I must have been too caught up in my thoughts, because even my sword was raised in a guard without me noticing.

... When did I pick it up off the ground...?

Regardless... the brunette girl in front of me now had her arms up as if threatened, but still had a playful smile on her face. "Hey, come on, I was just joking! Take it easy..." She then extended a hand. "I'm Chie. You're new here, right?"

It took me a while to lower my sword, mostly because I was still stuck in a daze. I eventually did and took her hand, though. "I'm Minato... nice to meet you."

"Same here." She replied with a nod as she rested her hands on her hips. I didn't see a weapon anywhere on her... "Say, have you been in the other worlds yet?"

I shook my head, thinking that'd be the answer that she'd expect. "Great. Me and a few others are forming a group to try and explore those. They're dangerous... So it's better not go wander alone in them. Do you wanna join us? I'll take you to meet the others."

That was actually a great idea. Dying once was already... I'd have to take a while to define how bad that was.

Dying was so bad, it reminded me of the blue I bled.

"Sure." I answered. She nodded and lead the way. We didn't have to walk a lot, she took me to two other people sat by the inner flight of stairs: one with short, somehow swept back black hair and the other with longish, untidy hair that almost reached his shoulders. The first one wore a scarf, and the latter wore some kind of tunic under his coat.

"Oh, you managed to pester the newcomer into joining us? Great!" The one with the tunic said with a grin.

"I didn't pester him! He agreed to come because he's cool..." the girl protested before sighing and turning to me. "Guys, this is Minato. Captain boring here is Eikichi, and this is our leader Nanjo." She motioned towards the two.

"Yo." The brunette guy threw me a two fingered salute.

"Glad to meet you. Also, please, call me Kei." The one with black hair spoke as he crossed his arms, before touching the bridge of his nose. Why? I had no idea. "Can I assume you gave him the short version, Chie?" He asked, turning towards the girl, who nodded. Her smile then turned a bit more sheepish. "I was hoping you could explain things better, so..."

"It's alright," he said with a small smile, as Eikichi sneered. It seemed those guys got along pretty well. "You see, Minato, it's quite simple. We're trapped in here until we overcome our challenges in these worlds. We do exactly that, only we agreed to do that together.

We're relatively new here, me being the veteran of the three, but not by much. We do not know exactly what ordeals await us, but we're sure that facing them as a group is more prudent than tackling everything alone. That said, we wish to have you in our group, as well. Would you like to join us?"

I'd already decided before, but there was no need to be rude. "Sounds like a plan. Sure, I'm in."

Eikichi fist pumped, Chie cheered and Kei nodded with his eyes closed. "One more for the team! Granted, it could have been a pretty girl, but still! Welcome to the band, man," the first exclaimed.

Even I couldn't hold back a small smile.

"Thank you. I hope we can work well together. I think the four of us should be enough to venture into Muladhara, again. What do you guys say?" Kei said.

Muladhara...? Chie must have caught my confused expression. "Oh, that's the name of this door. I forgot you don't understand the names outright..." she explained as she scratched the back of her head. Then she turned towards Kei. "I'm cool with that." She answered his question.

"I'm down. Would be cool to give Minato some experience, as well, I think." Eikichi was the one to voice his agreement.

He was actually right. I didn't know what I'd find out there, and I'd need to be ready in case something like that swordsman appeared again... I rubbed my right eye before I could catch myself doing it. "Good idea. I'll tag along. By the way... I'm assuming we'll have to fight, so, uhh... Can I ask what you guys can do?"

"Oh, no problem. I wield a two handed sword. I'm not as fast as Chie, but I do believe my strikes are heavier. I need to work on that, actually..." He touched the bridge of his nose, again. "That's gotten me killed once, already. I do not want to go through that again... Chie fights using kicks. Keeping up with her might be a problem, but that's a good thing."

"Aw, don't say it like that..." The girl protested before turning towards me. "But yeah, basically, I kick stuff into oblivion with mighty strikes and... just kidding." She joked with a smile. "I have to get up close though, so I have to look out for that..."

They were even thinking about ranges. They seemed to have their game under control and their wits above themselves. That was good, at least we wouldn't be huddling blindly at everything we saw. I wonder how they worked in an actual fight.

"And Eikichi has-"

"Time to rock this out!" The brunette exclaimed as he extended a hand. As if heeding his call, a blue guitar appeared in his grip. "Check this bad boy out! Isn't it awe-"

Kei cleared his throat loudly. "Eikichi can attack from a distance, but he doesn't do much damage and that ability of his drains him, slowly but surely. I do think your potential is up close, however." He said, then turning to the recently bummed out boy.

"Come on, man, did you really have to- Oh, really?" Eikichi was interrupted mid speech by Kei's affirmation.

"Yeah. You were the one who dealt the killing blow to that demon, last time. I believe you are stronger than me, wielding that huge thing."

"But this is heavy as Hell... no way I'll handle that effectively when it's go time..." he answered with his eyes a bit wide.

"Yeah, I think you're right. You're too much of a wimp to lift that thing up." Chie said with a nod.

"Oh, shut up, you! Go kick a tree, or something."

I sneered slightly. The sight of those two squabbling like that stirred something in me. I don't know what it was, though.

I just know it was good.

"Enough, you two. Well, Minato, how do you fight?" Kei spoke.

Well, I, uh... I didn't really have anything outstanding to talk about. "I..."

"Oh, I know that you have a sword. You use it with one hand, right?" Chie asked.

"Yep. I believe I'm pretty mobile, too, maybe I can dodge a thing or two. Outside of that... there's not much I can do."

"Don't think like that. I'm sure there's a lot you can do, we may just have to bring it out of you, is all," he said, trying to reassure me.

"Yeah, I bet you aren't useless like Chie here." Eikichi said, apparently still bent on getting revenge on her last remark.

"Don't call me useless!" She retorted, gritting her teeth.

"Oh, did I push a button? Little Chie is getting red with embarrassment...?"

"Little Eikichi is gonna get black and blue after I'm done with him if he doesn't quit being an annoying brat!"

I looked at them, then at Kei. "Are they always like this?"

"You wouldn't believe it." He said, massaging his temple. "Anyways, are you ready? We'll go in as soon as those two stop."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay. I'll say this again, glad to have you on our team." He said.

I smiled at him. "Don't mention it."

* * *

 **That's done. This fic is intended to be more lighthearted than my other ones, mainly because I don't have a lot of experience writing that kind of scene and I'd have to start somewhere. Also, you may be weirded out by a few things here. Don't worry, I know what i'm doing. (I think)**

 **Steven Cold: Hopefully, light as this fic is supposed to be, I do think it'll be a bit packed with battles and action. I hope you stick around and enjoy the read. Thanks.**

 **Nightly7: It was the right one. :P Although I don't think there will be OP-ness, mysteries will be a thing, so... yeah. Thanks! It'd been a while since I'd written any battles before that one, so I'm glad it turned out alright.**

 **Welp, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Opinions, critics, whatever in the review box below, I'm Raidou the 16th, and I approve this message. See ya next time.**


	3. Earth On Hell

**Well... I'm back. Same old.**

* * *

Me and the other three stepped through the door, and we found ourselves in a completely different place.

We seemed to be in a run down apartment. A very run down apartment. There was a window, but only the faint streetlights outside helped bring color into the room. Which, to be honest, wasn't a lot. The whole atmosphere amounted to one, single and simple hue... everything that wasn't brown was grey, and every other color got drowned in those shades of depression and boredom.

The world seemed stale... nothing ever seemed to progress there.

But that was just the feeling I got.

"Well, Minato, this is the world behind Muladhara. There's not much else for me to say... we didn't get very far in our tries to explore this place." Nanjo spoke up. "But now, I'm certain we'll be able to find something out."

"I sure do hope so." I answered as the leader touched the bridge of his nose.

"Relax dude, we'll be fine." Eikichi said reassuringly as Chie hopped lightly from side to side and gave me a thumbs up.

Heheh.

Ahem.

Oh, Nanjo cleared his throat, too. "Let's get going guys."

We nodded and made our way to the room's door. It didn't have a lock, so we got out okay.

When I looked back, I saw the door to Home still standing in the back of the room...

Convenient.

Still, we got out into the corridor. The doors to other apartments were etched side by side on the wall. I wondered if we could find find something in those rooms... I vocalized the thought.

"From what I remembered, these rooms are tightly locked. Although, we did he-"

We then heard something banging on the doors towards the end of the corridor.

"... We did hear that, sometimes. It's just never been so loud." He said before calling his sword upon. "Raise your guards and proceed with caution, everyone."

Chie tapped the ground with the tip of her toes, and blue greaves appeared on her feet.

So that was her weapon. Huh.

Eikichi readied his guitar with a confident grin in his face.

I called my sword and held it in a reverse grip. I dunno, just felt like it.

We approached the end of the corridor with caution on our steps. I could hear Chie's breath next to me. I had half a mind to do something to try reassure her, but... what? I didn't know her, I didn't know what'd work.

Nanjo then stopped and put a hand on her shoulder and nodded at her.

She snapped back to reality and nodded back. Her stance more confident than before.

... Was that all it took? No, there must have been something else...

We suddenly stopped as we reached the door, for a we heard another bang, but this time, the old and rusty doorknob fell to the ground.

I held my sword in front of me. Didn't exactly pay attention to the others, as much as I should have.

What I do know, was that we all stopped to pay attention to the door...

Which busted open right there and then.

We all took a step back. Eikichi, being the one who was the farthest back, found the door behind him slamming against his back as blackened creatures started to crawl out of the rooms.

On all fours, they crawled more swiftly than they should, having a slender figure that resembled a human's.

And then from the floor, they started clawing up the walls and the ceiling.

Staring at us sideways and upside down were humanoids, with the same hollowly bright yellow eyes as that swordsman... slender faces and bodies, they seemed frail... aside from the claws that dug into the corridor's concrete. Their backs, however, hunched unnaturally upwards like a cat's, which made their expressionless faces all the more horrid.

"We've never seen these before...!" Chie yelled. She said that, but I got that she was thinking 'what should I do?'. That was my impression, anyways.

"All the more reason to stay put! Mishina, take aim!" Nanjo demanded.

Mishina, though?

Eikichi pointed the neck of his guitar towards one of the creatures.

Oh. Was that his last name?

"Minato, Chie, defend yourselves. Fire!" The orders from the leader continued.

The brunette made some chugs using his guitar. I didn't understand why, bu-

Did he just fire bullets out of that thing?!

He surely did take one of the creatures that was hanging from the ceiling down.

I was going to rush and finish that thing off, but one of the other monsters leaped off the wall and tackled me to the ground.

I crashed back. That thing wasn't light!

It mounted on my chest and let out a hellish scream on my face as its gelid fingers made their way to my face.

And I said gelid. Frigid. The cold was starting to bite against my skin, and when I finally gathered my thoughts to try and raise my sword to react...

Chie punted it off me with all of her might. It crashed against the wall and the impact made visible cracks that reached up. Concrete dust fell from the ceiling, and the concrete one of the creature's claws was dug into fell apart, which almost made it fall.

"Thanks," I quickly said as I got up to my feet, to see Nanjo countering a tackle with an upwards slash, which almost tore a monster apart. Eikichi then finished it off by shooting some bullets into it. The monster dissolved into a black mist which still lingered about...

Paying no mind, I took my stance once more... four monsters were still alive.

"Eikichi, pound the wall with all your strength!" Kei ordered.

The man didn't think twice: He used the neck as a handle and swung his guitar at the wall with no remorse.

The wall and ceiling at his side cracked wildly. The last three creatures that were still hanging fell from the wall and ceiling all together. One of them fell on its hunched back, and it made a crack so horrible, it sent a chill down my spine.

And then another, because it was my spine.

The other two, however, fell on their hands and began to crawl and corner Nanjo, who was unafraid. He held his sword in a guard and waited for a strike.

It never came, though, as Eikichi and Chie rushed to swing and stomp on the monsters, respectively, finishing them off. More mist began to fill the corridors.

I was starting to sweat... that corridor was far too small for that...

Now holding my sword upright, I impaled the monster Chie had kicked off me against the wall. One more turned to mist.

Nanjo was the one to do the honors and put his sword through the remaining creature, ceasing its cries.

That was over. I sighed with relief as the mist began to dissipate.

And then I breathed in the new air and-

It was strange.

I felt like the corridor expanded before my eyes. Was it always like that?

"Alright! We're fine! That went well. Minato, you okay?" Chie cheered before asking me.

"I'm alright." I replied, rubbing my cheeks and temples. I still felt so cold, it hurt, but I'd be fine.

"Need anything, man?" Eikichi was the one to voice his concerns. "That's looking kinda ugly..."

Huh?

I used my sword as a mirror and saw my reflection...

That monster's fingers left black trails on my face. Maybe that was why I was still hurting. But really, I'd be fine. "Relax, dude. I'm okay."

Nanjo looked at me with concern, but I stared back in a way that made him drop whatever questions he had.

"Okay. Let's get going, guys."

* * *

 **Done. See ya.**


	4. Escape

**Sup? Back with this. Hope you're enjoying it. Usual disclaimers. On with it**

* * *

We descended the stairs and reached the streets outside of the building. My curiosity about the reason why it was so dark was picked, and I decided to look up to the sky.

... Except there was no sky...

Rather, a structure of iron beams supported a man made ceiling. I had no idea how far it stretched, but damn if it didn't make me feel weird...

Was that a shelter of some kind...?

We arrive into a a parking lot... or just an open, asphalted area. I didn't know where that could be considered a lot because... well, I dunno. Maybe because I didn't see any signs of cars.

... Still, I couldn't distract myself from the other question.

If that was a shelter, what happened to the world outside of it...? What was that shelter for?

I decided to ask Nanjo as we walked down towards a set of stairs that led down into a district, seemingly residential, but different from any other I've seen before. Like...

... Like... Like...

Come on, think of a district!

"I don't know, either." The leader answered, snapping me out of my thoughts... Not completely, actually. The question still kept nagging at the back of my head. "We never ventured far enough to find that out. Sorry."

Did he apologize for not being able to answer my question? Really? "It's alright." I answered plainly. That was something I didn't how to deal with, so I didn't know if I sounded rude, or something.

Nanjo went quiet again, and so silence reigned once more.

Which was interesting. I thought Eikichi and Chie got along well enough to at least not keep quiet like that.

Or maybe it was the situation of life and death that was getting to everyone but me.

Maybe neither of the two died yet.

And why did I automatically assumed that everyone could come back to life? Maybe they couldn't...?

The silence was doing a number on my attention span...

We entered a house of sorts... no, that wasn't a house. That was a warehouse... supplies stacked up high to the ceiling, along with blankets, and boxes of things I couldn't see what were.

Also, the road had ended right before the door to that place. It like if one wanted to transit from one street to another, one would have to pass through there.

I noticed Chie looking around the place with slightly fearful eyes. Huh... with how strong she was (given the way she kicked that creature off of me), I figured she'd be a little more confident. But nope.

Eikichi eventually gave her looks, but kept to himself, as well. Was that really how fragile that group's affinity was in the end...? I felt as if Nanjo was the only one keeping the group together, at that point. Rather, the reason why they were together was stronger than their indifference.

Or maybe that wasn't indifference. Maybe they just haven't been together enough?

Maybe I should have stopped staring at them every two seconds.

Eikichi caught me looking at him. "... What's wrong?" He asked.

Uh... "Nothing, really. Just wondering how you shoot bullets out of a freaking guitar." I lied.

"Oh, that." He seemed to buy it, as his mouth curved upwards slightly. Maybe that was something he wanted to talk about but never had a chance to? "I got that after I defeated some big monster and gave the blood to that Elizabeth woman. She 'blessed' my guitar with that. Ain't that cool?"

"Hell yeah." I tried to say with enthusiasm, but my eyes didn't follow. I needed to work on that... "Who's Elizabeth, though?"

Chie was the one to look at me and change her expression, for once. "You don't know Elizabeth...? You know, blond, almost silver hair, this tall... blue clothes?"

... Only one I knew was Margaret, and she was taller than that. I said that out loud. I also mentioned the fact that Margaret had long hair.

"... So there are two of them...?" Nanjo asked.

Huh...

... Hey! "Chie, didn't you see the one I'm talking about when you came to call me, back at Home...?" I asked her.

She placed a finger under her bottom lip and thought for a brief moment. "Nnnope. If there was anyone near you, they left before I got to you."

Weird...

Well, that didn't really matter at that moment. "Huh... I'll try to look into that later." I said, turning towards the door to the other street. I opened it and we went through, into yet section of that dull scenery.

That place gave me chills... Nothing seemed to ever progress there! Rather, at each step I took, I felt that fear... not really fear. It was like... a feeling that I was going to end, and everything I knew would sink with me.

It was that bizarre. That whole place made my skin crawl...

The walk down the street was also quiet, and my lie was making uneasy. However, I didn't show it. In fact, I wouldn't even need to hide it. Neither of the three was paying attention to me.

We eventually reached another door, this time not to a warehouse, but to a room I wasn't exactly sure about the purpose of. There was a door to our left, and another one north of us.

So... which on-

Chie?

I looked at the girl, and she was clutching her head for some reason. We all turned turned our attention towards her and went to her side.

"Chie, what's wrong?" Nanjo asked her before any of us. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I," she trailed off and gasped once for breath, before standing upright again. "I feel it. It's here... there." She pointed towards the door to our left.

Nanjo then took a step back and touched the bridge of his nose with the ghost of a smirk. "Alright. Can you fight?"

"Yeah, I can." The girl answered, already recovered.

"Eikichi?"

"Yessir!" The brunette gave him a salute.

... What the Hell was going on...? What were we gonna fight?!

Nanjo turned to me and noticed my puzzlement. "Oh, you probably don't know what's happening... Well, Chie just found her challenge."

Challenge? The one that Margaret or Elizabeth talked about?

That giant swordsman flashed in my mind once again.

I now knew what that meant. Somewhat.

"We all have challenges we must face here. Hers must be-"

"I think I get it." I cut Nanjo off. Not on purpose. My mind was still in his last statement, and I tried to reply to that. The guy looked at me with a blank face and took a second to close his mouth. I didn't pay attention to the other two, because I was busy focusing on the reason for the weight in my conscience at that moment.

... Where was I in that split second...?

An awkward silence followed and told me that was something I must fix.

"...Good." Nanjo eventually nodded. I'm sorry, I didn't wanna interrupt him... "Well, if you're ready, we'll go in." The leader said, already reaching out for the door. He touched the knob and...

"Aah!" Immediately retracted his hand, as if the knob had sent volts through his arm.

"What's wrong?!" "You okay?" "What happened?""

"It's nothing..." The guy replied, rubbing his hand. "I don't think I can open this... and I don't suggest you guys try, either..." He continued, blinking twice too quickly and gritting his teeth for a second. I didn't think that was conscious on his part.

"Huh? What do you mean- Aagh!" Chie was the one to step forward and get shocked, then. Maybe she thought only she could open the door, or something. I looked at Eikichi: sure enough, he wasn't gonna try.

"Ouch... what do we do now...?" The girl pouted while rubbing her hand. I was not going to say that her little gesture was not adorable.

... What? Don't look at me!

"This is certainly not natural... I think we should look around to find a way around this. We will conquer your challenge as a group, Chie." Nanjo said, looking at the girl, who replied his glance and nodded with confidence.

Eikichi, who had been quiet until now, also nodded in response to the leader's look.

I also nodded when he looked at me.

...

...

We continued through the other door into yet another section of the street. Same silence accompanying us as we now checked every house in our way, in search for anything that might help. We didn't have much luck, however...

Well... we were looking for something we didn't know what was, though, so... That was to be expected, in my opinion.

"Hey, Kei." Eikichi opened his mouth. "What do you think is blocking that door?"

"I have no idea. But searching around is what we should do, for the moment, in my opinion. The answer might be around, somewhere..."

"But don't you think we should gather a bit more information before we start searching blindly for something we don't know what is? We can go back Home, maybe ask Elizabeth... what do you think?" The brunette asked. His tone was not imposing, as much as his words showed dissatisfaction, but that was it. There were zero hard feelings.

The understanding between the two seemed deep enough for him to pass the message across without hurting anything near Nanjo's feelings and/or ego. He simply looked at Eikichi with a small smile, low chin, and acknowledging nod. "You're right. I'm sorry, guys, I was far too stuck on getting this done. Sorry, Chie. Thanks, Eikichi."

"No need to apologize." Mishina... why did I think of him by his last name? Maybe it was because because of Nanjo. Anyway, he gave the leader a smile and a thumbs up. The gestures sincere, genuine. "We're here to help."

"Yeah, don't sweat about it! We'll solve this, no prob." Chie also replied with a smile.

I was somewhat baffled by the level of understanding they had. In fact, their relationship was bit of a mystery to me. First, they seemed all goody with each other, friendly bickering and all. Then, Nanjo showed himself to be a real leader during that battle. Then silence prevailed, making it look like they were really far apart from each other. And now, this level of understanding and selflessness was being shown right before my eyes. How long have they have they been together? Nothing seemed to add up...

That made me feel like such an outsider... I didn't understand much of what was going on between them, I just went with the flow.

...

"... Okay with that, Arisato?"

Huh? Oh...! "Yeah, that's a good idea." I replied.

"Alright. Let's head back." Kei said.

...

...

We started our stroll back to that apartment, silent as always. Not much needed to be said, I supposed.

Upon reaching the warehouse, we heard noises inside. Monsters? Perhaps. Could have been other people, though.

The leader went ahead and turned the knob with one hand by his side, apparently ready to summon his sword on a second's notice. He took care to open it as quietly as he could.

Following his course of action, we entered with silent steps, careful not to give away our location.

Rounding the corner, Nanjo stuck his head out of the packed shelf we were using as cover. I didn't know what he saw, so I went and pocked my head out, as well.

There was a guy... a brunette, with hair longer than Eikichi's, squatted down to the ground, petting a white dog with red eyes. Its tongue was sticking out happily, and it soon laid down on its back, asking for the possible owner to rub its belly. I thought 'it' because I didn't know if it was male or female. Now I know it's a he.

The guy, himself, was laughing as the dog frolicked under his hand. Seemed he was having fun.

I eased and lowered my shoulders. He didn't look like a bad guy. Granted, I should have been doubtful, but...

Sigh... I really should have been doubtful, right?

Nanjo kept steady, thinking of the right time to approach the guy and his dog, as Eikichi poked his head out, as well, making the scene almost comic.

It was a brief while before he noticed something which I didn't and decided to take action.

He boldly took a step out of the cover and called the guy's attention. "Hey, sup?"

We followed him, now that he decided to engage the guy friendly. At least I thought so. My reads were not exactly on point when it came to these guys.

The guy's attention was caught, and he looked at us. None of us had a weapon in our grip. "Oh, hi. Can I help you?" The guy rose up to his feet and the dog stood up to his paws, looking at us attentively.

"We're just exploring the place, taking a look around, seeing if we can find anything." Eikichi continued, leading the conversation.

The guy furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "... Exploring?"

"Yeah, trying to progress. You know, challenges and all that. I'm Eikichi Mishina. You got a name?"

The other brunette started sweating, for some reason. Now that I paid attention to Eikichi's face, he was inquisitive, doubting, clearly distrusting. Did he know something?

Cornered, the guy and his dog took a step back.

"That's a nice red dagger you got there." Mishina continued, pressing him further.

"Oh crap... they're Blue Swords! Let's go, Koromaru!"

Without missing a beat, the two turned on their heels and made a run for it. Our taller brunette immediately ran and gave chase, and I followed suit soon after. Chie and Nanjo also accompanied us, although half a step behind.

The guy didn't take long to try and knock a shelf aside to block our way.

Why was he so desperate...? What was going on?!

Regardless, me and Chie managed to jump over it, while Nanjo and Eikichi had a bit more trouble surpassing the obstacle.

Chie, being more athletic than me, ran faster and took the lead. The guy rammed his shoulder at the door in front of him, despite not looking very strong, and busted it open, making way for his dog to run ahead.

A corner was soon to come and Chie lost by mere seconds to the guy's speed. He was really quick, and as soon as she thought he got within striking ranger, she took her feet off the ground and tried to hit him with a flying kick, which unfortunately didn't hit because the guy ducked as he turned to the left to follow the street. I passed her by and continued on the chase.

Why was that guy so fast, though?!

After feinting me in an intersection, he rounded a corner to the right and ascended the stairs up to an apartment at the end of the path he took. I naturally followed him running at full speed up the steps, but then he closed the door right in front of my face. I almost fell backwards, but managed to stand and open the door...

To find no one.

The back window of the living room was open.

I quickly ran towards it, but there was no one down there, either...

"Did you catch him?!" Chie came through the door, as well. The rest of the group followed shortly after.

"No, but he must be here, somewhere. Can you guys help me search around here?" I said, and it didn't take long for people to get right into it.

After a few minutes of searching, we regrouped with empty hands.

Where in the Hell did that guy go?!

"Well... what do we do now?" I asked. I think a bit of my frustration showed through, but it blended well with the others'.

"We go back and follow the original plan. We can think about this later." Nanjo said, touching the bridge of his nose.

Chie looked to the side and sighed. The leader was quick to put a hand on her shoulder and give it a light squeeze. She just lowered her head in response, but in the end raised her head and nodded.

Eikichi also looked at her with concern. I tried to give her a similar look, trying to imitate his empathy, but then that damned swordsman flashed in my thoughts. I immediately felt the will to defeat it once and for all, for some reason.

Maybe it was my Challenge...?

I think I looked more convincing, now.

"Okay, let's go back Home, guys." Nanjo said, and we started to head back.

* * *

 **Well, that's done. I wish I could say that mysteries are beginning to escalate, but that's not even a glimpse of the mysteries in this fic. Anyway, critics and opinions in the review box below, I'm Raidou The 16th and I approve this message. *thumbs up* See you in whatever I write next.**


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